Chapter 5482

Secretary Tia couldn't help wondering when Titus would transfer her elsewhere.

Truthfully, she wanted to stay by his side.

Simply seeing his handsome face every day gave her motivation.

If she could one day melt that cold, distant expression and make him smile warmly at her...

She believed she could transform her fate.

The position of matriarch of the Labbe family was something countless women dreamed of.

Meanwhile, Timothy had no idea that Secretary Tia had already begun entertaining such ambitions.

After chatting with Mr. Deng for a few minutes, he finally asked with concern,

"Mr. Deng, how did your meeting with our new president go?

"Our president is still young and can be a bit impulsive. If his attitude wasn't ideal, I hope you'll be understanding and won't let it affect the cooperation between our companies."

After a brief silence, Mr. Deng replied,

"President Labbe's attitude was... well... not especially warm."

When Titus had first greeted him, he had been cold, direct, and somewhat impatient, as though it made no difference to him whether the partnership happened or not.

Only after the contract had been signed had his demeanor become noticeably friendlier.

Even now, Mr. Deng couldn't quite understand why he'd felt pressured into signing so quickly.

The moment Titus brought up the contract, he'd signed it almost without hesitation.

It was as though he had been afraid that delaying even a little would cause Titus to walk away from the deal.

Clearly, it had been the Labbe Group that initially approached him for cooperation.

Yet somehow, by the end of the meeting, it had felt as though he was the one eager to secure the partnership.

A flicker crossed Timothy's eyes.

Just as he'd expected.

Titus was arrogant, overconfident, and young.

Unlike older executives, he lacked patience and restraint.

Timothy assumed the meeting must have gone poorly.

Putting on an understanding smile, he said,

"Mr. Deng, please don't take our president's words personally. He's still young and doesn't always control his temper well.

"On his behalf, I'd like to apologize to you. If he was discourteous in any way, I'm truly sorry."

Timothy believed he had every right to apologize for Titus.

Professionally, he had only recently stepped down as president and had far more experience.

Personally, although separated by several generations, they were still members of the same extended family.

He was more than twenty years older than Titus.

By seniority, Titus should have called him elder brother.

If a younger brother offended an important client, it was only natural for the older brother to smooth things over.

Mr. Deng chuckled.

"Mr. Labbe... or should I say Vice President Labbe? Since both of you share the same surname, it's hard to tell you apart without adding 'Vice.'

"But there's really no need to apologize.

"President Labbe wasn't especially warm, but he wasn't rude either.

"He didn't offend me, so there's nothing to apologize for."

Timothy froze for a moment before quickly forcing another smile.

"That's good. I was worried the president might have upset you.

"Will the cooperation between our companies be affected?

"I'm still with the Labbe Group, and I've handled this project from the beginning. As long as I'm here, you can have complete confidence in our company."

Mr. Deng answered simply,

"The contract has already been signed."

"The contract... has been signed?"

Timothy was stunned.

He had been certain Titus would ruin the negotiations.

He had expected Mr. Deng to refuse to cooperate.

Instead...

They had already signed the agreement.

"Yes," Mr. Deng replied. "It's signed.

"President Labbe didn't waste time with unnecessary formalities.

"He pointed out that our companies had already gone through multiple rounds of negotiations and that you and I had already settled nearly every detail.

"I came here today to sign the contract, and that's exactly what I did.

"He was straightforward and got right to the point.

"So I signed."

There was no reason to drag things out any longer.

If he hesitated too much, Titus might simply take the business elsewhere.

After all, Havenmill had only two major conglomerates capable of handling a project of this scale—the Labbe Group and the Lonen Group.

And both were now under Titus's control.

Whether he partnered with the Labbe Group or the Lonen Group, he was ultimately doing business with the same man.

If he approached another corporation, there was no guarantee the deal would ever come together.